Luke: Search your feelings, Father, you can’t do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate.
Darth Vader: It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.
Luke: Then my father is truly dead.
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
So this weekend we didn’t hide eggs for Padawan Learner like we usually do. We didn’t get together with family like we have in the past – that whole distance thing. We didn’t gork out in a sugar-induced coma from dawn to dusk, like could reasonably have been expected. (A bit of chocolate and jelly beans – courtesy of my mother – did make its way into our bellies though.)
Instead, we went to a conference. A really good conference. A conference right here in downtown Des Moines. We went to the American Atheist national conference, and it was great. There were a few protesters, but not many, and it didn’t get nasty. No one was converted, on either side. A few dribbled inside to drill the people sitting at informational booths during the lecture periods, but they leaked away when their arguments failed to impress and no ire was raised.
Speakers of all stripes talked about some specifically religious issues, some legal issues regarding separation of church and state cases, the hidden diversity of atheists and why some people have a harder time “coming out” as an atheist (hint: fear of losing jobs, friends, and family), a science biography for a theoretical physicist, a discussion of “The Family” on C-Street in Washington, D.C. that had Dad Windu shaking when it was over, and much more. It was, perhaps, a bit of an unexpected weekend but, as always, it was nice to meet other like-minded people and spend some time together as a couple. (PL spent much of the weekend hanging out in the audience with a blob of other teens that attended.)
What does the quote up there have to do with it? That’s what atheists are often accused of: “hating” a god, religion, the religious – of being in general hateful. I can’t speak for every atheist, but that isn’t what it is for me or my family. Yes, we are angry at times about things that are done in the name of a deity, for the way that people look down on us for not believing in their or even just “some” higher power, and that we are statistically the most despised and mistrusted group of people in America (who wouldn’t be a little ticked about that?), but really it’s just about us trying – like everyone else – to make sense of this world and our place in it. We believe that life, meaning, purpose, and all the rest can be explained – yes, even best explained – without invoking the role of the supernatural. Hate me for it if you will, but that’s part of who we are.
I have not ‘come out’ as an atheist to many people. And it’s fear that keeps me from doing so.
I also will never tell my parents. It would hurt them for no good reason that I can think of.
But yeah, imagine being able to just… say you don’t believe. And get shrugs and go on with life.
wow
Ami: We were much the same. We purposefully didn’t tell my husband’s family because we knew it would cause them pain, until they started pumping us repeatedly on why we weren’t
living their livesgoing to church anymore (actually I stopped going several months before DW did). How they knew that we had stopped going (since we didn’t attend the same one) is a little more creepy. The church we used to attend actually called DW’s old church – from info they got from his transfer papers – and narked us out to his parents. How’s that for an invasion of privacy? It was probably illegal use of our personal information, but we didn’t pursue it.Wonderful post! I had never really thought of athiests being “statistically the most despised and mistrusted group of people in America” – but now that I read it, I would guess that would be correct. I think it comes down to people’s ignorant fear of anything different than what they know. And although our family isn’t athiest, we aren’t religious, either. (We could be best classified as pagan, though that word is so encompassing that’s like trying to describe me by saying that I’m “human.”) Like you, we also don’t advertise our beliefs, as we tend to run into fear and ridicule. It’s wonderful that you guys have a like minded community where you live.
Thank you, Firefly Mom. I figured this would be one of those posts that just.sits.there
all… alone…
I’ve had such a weird journey from conservative evangelical to mainstream liberal protestant to some kind of agnostic something-or-other that I appreciate EVERY journey. And when people tell me they are athiest, evangelical, or anywhere in between, I just find it very interesting and love to listen to their stories. It’s one of the coolest parts of admin’ing SHS.com, to be honest. Listening to people’s stories and getting insights on their belief-systems is just one of the coolest things in the world to me. Zero hate involved.
It is fascinating to see what, why, and how people get to be who they are and what they believe, isn’t it? I’m willing to bet that your journey would mirror Dad Windu’s in some very big ways. The funniest part of ours is that it was Padawan Learner, at 8, who was the first to say what we were all thinking deep down. Thankfully, he knew that he could say anything to me without worrying about it getting him into trouble.
I was thinking about the conference this weekend. I’m happy to hear it went well.
I’ll be interested to catch up and hear about some of the sessions.
Awesome sauce, hope y’all had a good time and don’t forget…they are called Spring Spheres now.
Kriss
http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=459668
I’m jealous you had a conference to attend. Digging the format of your blog as well, the Star Wars theme/quotes are working well for you.
I found you via the Atheist Blogroll and would love to have you put a pin on the Atheist Blogmap I started a few days ago.
Regards,
Chris (AKA cdogzilla)
Thanks for dropping by my new blog and congrats on your recent listing on the Atheist Blogroll. I will be following your site. Very informative! Peace!
The thing you have to remember is That sand people travel in single file to cover they’re true numbers .